HYDERABAD: In the sensational heist at Nizam's museum in the Old City last week, two persons have been arrested. The stolen artefacts including, a diamond-studded three-tier golden tiffin box, gold cup and saucer, and spoons, have been recovered.
The accused, 23-year-old Mohammed Ghouse Pasha and 24-year-old Mohammed Mubeen, are childhood friends and distant relatives. The two Rajendranagar residents, according to police, stole the antique pieces with an aim to sell them in the international market through Mubeen's sources.
The idea to steal the artefacts cropped in Mubeen's mind when, after returning from Saudi Arabia, he went to Nizam Museum as tourists, police said. They spotted the stolen artefacts, including a golden cased Quran.
"They were going to steal the Quran. However when they were going to, the morning azan sounded which discouraged them and they dropped the idea," Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar said on Tuesday.
After stealing the artefacts, to avoid being tracked by CCTV cameras, they avoided main roads and moved through lanes and that too haphazardly, police said.
"They also tried to put off the police's trail and employed many ways to do that," Kumar said, adding that the methods came into fore while investigation.
For instance, Ghouse who is a habitual offender, to throw off the police's scent, wanted to get arrested for a separate offence.
"They were also using phones which had no sim cards. Initially, we were in the wrong direction," Kumar said.
After stealing the artefacts they allegedly felt insecure about carrying such precious items and buried it in an open pit near the Dairy Farm in Rajendranagar -- the place where Ghouse and Mubeen grew up.
They then proceeded to Mumbai via Zaheerabad.
"First they wanted to have some good time. Took services of call girls over there. Then Mubeen, through his contacts in Saudi Arabia, wanted to sell the antique items in Mumbai itself," Kumar added.
Finally, based on a tip-off, the sleuths of South Zone Task Force and Mirchowk Police apprehended both the accused in the hillocks nearby Himayathsagar and recovered the stolen property, police said.
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